


An Upset Stomach

by FullmetalDevil



Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Family Bonding, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Graphic Depictions of Illness, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-08 14:33:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18625195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FullmetalDevil/pseuds/FullmetalDevil
Summary: A pleasant day comes to an end when little Benny gets a upset stomach and things go from bad to worse. Tom learns firsthand the other aspects of being a parent other then just all the positive moments as there are a few downers along the way.





	An Upset Stomach

**Author's Note:**

> Part of the story was inspired from ZanzaFlux's "Fever" a story depicting Bendy getting sick, so I thought about what would happen if Benny got sick.
> 
> There are some moments where the act of vomiting is described but its only ink, nothing severe to keep it pg 13. So other then that I hope you ladies and gentlemen enjoy.
> 
>  
> 
> On with the show~

Allison was out for a few days for a small part in a movie shoot while Tom had taken a few days off to be home for a well deserved vacation as well as to care for Benny. The toon was a bit bummed that Allison won't be home for a little while, but upon hearing that Tom was taking several days off to be home with him made him truly ecstatic. Benny was more then happy to spend time with his father figure and Tom was more then happy to spend time with his little one, the man already plotting on how he should spend his vacation with his plush toy son.

Clouds hung low in the sky and despite the threatening look of the heavens there was only a small chance of rain. Seeing a clear opportunity Tom had decided to do a little fishing at a river 20 minutes from home. Benny had inquired about why the sudden urge for fishing since it was cloudy and that they should stay home, but his answer was that the bigger fish come out on cloudy rainy days or when it's dark out. The toon watched as his dad packed up two fishing rods, bait, and a cooler and loaded up the truck while he was urged to grab a raincoat and boots just in case.

The road was soon behind them as the duo headed down the highway to the forest a few miles away. Tom was thankful traffic was light due to the weather and could already spot the swiftly approaching mountains. Benny happily bounced in his seat when he saw the approaching tree line indicating the woods, causing Tom to chuckle at the excitement of the toon. Benny liked the little area that Tom and Henry discovered. It was a old quiet hiking trail that panned out to a small open area with a river that ran just beyond the tree line. No one liked coming to the spot since it was a solid 20 minute walk just to reach the site, but for the toons it was well worth it. The creeping oaks and towering pines created a perfect little hideaway encased by the soothing sounds of the river.

The 20 minute walk was spent with Benny eagerly asking Tom about what they were going to catch while riding on his dad's shoulders. Tom described all the types of fish that he and Henry spotted in the river and that at this time of year they should be more then plentiful, plus if they were to catch any that he would make fish fry with them. He noted that the backfire is that patience catches fish better then haste and that once they got there that they would be spending a lot of time relaxing while waiting for the fish to bite since fishing isn't exactly a fast paced sport. Benny nodded in understanding and was more then willing to wait if it meant getting a good meal, but his patience came to an end the minute their trek to the clearing and he heard the sounds of the water lapping at the rocks beyond the trees. He tried to wiggle off Tom's shoulders to bound up to the waters edge, but was stopped by the man telling him to at least put his boots and coat on while he set up.

Tom positioned himself next to a large rock right by the rivers edge and dipped his bucket into the water leaning back using the boulder as a chair, and with the bucket at his side he motioned for Benny to join him. Benny was swiftly at his side dressed in his little coast and boots and Tom showed him how to tie the bait onto the hook. When the bait was secured Tom showed Benny the motions of how to cast the line before casting his own and patiently waited for Benny to do the same. The toon not wanting to disappoint cast his line with all his might and nearly cast himself in the process. Quick thinking on Tom's part kept the plushtoon from ending up in the water so Tom resorted to holding onto him while the toon cast his line. The floaters bobbed up and down blissfully in the river and Benny took the moment to relax in Tom's lap while the two idly chatted away about little things simply enjoying the others company. Benny's line was the first to get a bite and Tom showed Benny how to reel in the fish and to handle them once caught. He had Benny hold onto the fish and the poor toon was getting slapped in the face by the fish's tail, tom intervened and then it was his turn to get assaulted by the upset fish as it smacked him hard right in the nose. After some fuss and nearly dropping the fish into the river the fish was placed in a cooler filled with water for later. Several more fish later and thankfully with not nearly as much resistance as the first one, the cooler was full of the fish which was making Benny's mouth water with the thought of all the fish fry they could make.

By the end of the day Tom had pulled the fish out of the cooler one by one taking photos with Benny to capture their capture on film. The man sized all of the fish up and tossed all the fish back in the river except for two of them. Benny whined at the loss of the potential meal and Tom chuckled telling him that baby fish are let go to mature and reproduce, while older fish already reproduced and are for only caught for their needs. In short 1 fish per person to keeps things fair and to not over fish an area. Benny understood and watched the man clean and prep the fish which earned a small look of disgust from the toon pulling more chuckles out of his dad at the toon's reaction. Tom buried the innards which earned another round of questions from the devildoll. He was told that the body will break down and add nutrients to the soil to help plants grow as it was a part of the natural cycle of life.

The cooler was emptied except for the 2 freshly cleaned fish and Tom carried the cooler and rods while watching Benny run around the base of the oak trees collecting the bright fall leaves and a few acorns. Tom told him to leave the acorns out in a pile for creatures like the Grey squirrels to collect for the winter months since they would need them and the toon was more then happy to oblige. A sense of serenity swept between the two on their journey back through the woods. Benny asked many questions about the forest fauna and landscape while Tom did his best to answer his questions. They occasionally stopped to look at smaller wildlife for which Benny learned that frogs scream when held scarring him and thus earning a squeaky toy scream out of him as well. Tom thought he was gonna bust a rib at hearing both the frog and Benny scream at nearly the same time and both nearly sounding the same. It took awhile for the man to calm his laughter and even more so to peel Benny off him after the encounter.

The ride home was spent with Benny singing in the car to the radio while Tom joined in on rare occasion with the promise that Benny never told Allison. The man was too embarrassed to admit that on the rare occasion he liked to sing, but found a small partner leaning into his side encouraging him to sing a little louder. The truck was a chorus of tunes as the pair lightly sang to some jazzy pieces until Benny lightly complained of being hungry, and Tom had to admit he couldn't hide his own hunger as his stomach at one point spoke louder then Benny's getting a small chuckle out of the toon and the man turning red. A quick stop at a fast food stand was in order and he pulled into a drive through to get a quick bite to eat. Benny didn't like the taste of the food since he felt something was off, but he was so hungry his didn't care and ate it anyways. Since Benny inhaled his food Tom opted to enjoy his slowly while he scooted down the road to home listening to the soft hums of the toon as he watched the world move along the road.

The truck came to a stop in the driveway and Tom stepped out pulling out the cooler from the bed of the truck, before he grabbed the fishing poles and bait Benny offered to take them into the garage while he headed into the house to start cooking the fish. The man consented and headed into the home while Benny slid the fishing equipment out of the truck and closed up the bed. He wandered out to the garage and felt a small pain in his stomach, but it wasn't a big deal so he ignored it and put all the equipment away before running back to the house. He was greeted by the smell of garlic and fish upon opening the door as Tom had garlic bread in the oven and was frying fish on the stove. Benny could hardly wait and set the table while the man worked and occasionally got his horns scratched as he passed by back and forth behind Tom.

Once the fish was ready Tom pulled them out the oil and placed them on a paper towel to cool and get rid of the excess oil before checking on the garlic bread. He slipped on a oven mitt and pulled out the bread that was dripping with garlic butter and cheese. Benny was an instant barnacle on the mans leg making the man laugh as he moved around the kitchen with his demonic anklet. He was released from the demonic bondage as soon as the klink of the plate was heard on the table and Benny materialized in his seat. Tom swore it was like the toon teleported to food.

Appreciative hums drifted through the air accompanied by the crisp crunching sound of bread being broken and the fish being cut. Benny loved Allison's cooking, but something about Tom's cooking was just as good even though the man was simple in his usage of ingredients. The toon happily ate all his food slowly to savor the taste and chatted with his dad about little things. Once the fish was all gone Benny collected his dishes and slid them into the sink while Tom washed them before passing them off to Benny to dry them. The toon winced when his stomach pains returned gaining attention from his dad.

"Benny? You ok?" Tom glancing over his shoulder at the toon whom didn't look well for a brief moment.

Benny looked up at him and put on a shaky smile "I'm fine, just a little tired."

"How about I finish up here while you head off to bed?" The man gently removed the plate from Benny's hand and placed it in the cupboard.

"Ok. Good-Night then." Benny hugged him and slowly made his way down the hall to his room. He opened the door while clutching his stomach out of Tom's sight. He wandered up to his drawer and pulled out a long night shirt and put it on before burying himself under the covers. He didn't want to admit it out loud to Tom, but his stomach felt funny and was really starting to bother him. He didn't know what was going on but he hoped whatever it was would go away soon.

Tom breathed a small sigh at finally finishing the dishes and putting everything away for the night, the kitchen restored to it's former glory. Satisfied for the evening he retired to his room to grab his night clothes and changed in the restroom after showering and brushing his teeth. He practically threw himself onto his bed with giddy eagerness. Thoughts drifted through his mind as to how he should spend the following day with Benny since he was finally getting that vacation he always wanted and yearned to spend much needed time with his toon son. Should he go to the park? The museum? Hell even just doing simple projects with the toon always made him happy.

Tom was thankful more ways then one that Benny had a simple desire: attention. The toon never asked for much, but always enjoyed being included in on whatever was going on. Neither Tom or Allison liked excluding Benny from any activity and the couple had developed a silent agreement that if children weren't allowed to go then they wouldn't go. What made it all the better was how well behaved Benny is. They were able to go almost anywhere since Benny was always quiet and on his best behavior.

Tom quietly thanked whatever god or gods that may be at Benny's sweet and quiet nature. He knew he himself as a child was a bit overzealous when it came to some things which would explain Benny's eagerness with food, but as a child Tom was rough around the edges and blunt. The man chuckled at his youth of the days he spent running around driving his own parents up a wall with how energetic he was, but he wasn't a troublemaker. His chuckle grew to a full on laughter at remembering Benny running around in the woods on the way to and from the fishing and camping site. The plushtoon was acting just like he did when he was a boy and it was endearing watching a mini version of himself in a cartoon form doing what he once did a long time ago. Is this what it felt like to be a parent, if he could call himself one, watching your kids do the same things you once did?

His laughter slowly died down and was replaced by a large grin while Tom made himself cozy for bed. He knew his parents would be kill to meet Benny, but he didn't even know if his or Allison's parents were even alive any more since being gone for 30 years. He knew his mother would have a field day with the toon while his dad would most likely wish he got a hell spawn instead to make up for all the Grey's he put on his old mans head. That would be something that would warrant investigation: to see if their folks or family members are still alive, but that would be for another time. Thoughts of potential introductions and the family he missed passed through his mind as sleep slowly took him

 

\--------------------------

 

In the early morning hours long before the sun rose and a time that would make many question one's sanity for being awake Tom rustled out of his bed awoken by deep gurgling sounds and groans that drifted through the home. The man had never heard sounds like that before in his life and immediately went on the defensive suspecting someone broke into his home. First things first, protect Benny, he's not gonna let anyone mess with his little one. Tom reached around the edge of his bed pulling out his trusty base ball bat and crept across the room to his door slowly opening it part way and looked around. Confirming the coast was clear and listening to the noises better, it was concerning that it was coming from the direction of Benny's room.

Double checking that the hallway was clear of potential assailants, Tom quietly and hastily made his way to Benny's room and grew more concerned with the fact that the noises were getting louder. He hoped it wasn't from the toon, but the more he listened the more he heard the familial gurgles the toon's Ragdoll form makes. God he hoped he wasn't having a nightmare. It was always safer to view Benny from a safe distance when he was having a nightmare and in Ragdoll form for fear of him lashing out. Allison usually hummed or sang which was a from of comfort to the devildoll and would carefully tread to him avoiding his trip lines to enter his protective cocoon of his threads. Tom hoped it wouldn't come to that and hoped it wasn't anything severe.

The man's rough hand gently rested on the doorknob to Benny's room and he pressed his ear against the door to listen to the sounds within the room. The room was riddled with gurgles and groans, but what caught him by surprise was the occasional squeaky-toy like whine mixed in. Benny never made that sound in Ragdoll unless he was hurt, spurring Tom to open the door.

The sight before him made him drop his bat staring in confusion. Benny was on top his bed out of his night shirt and seemed to be in a strange half state between Ragdoll and normal. His teeth were triangular and the stitching on his face looked like it had been pulled apart with the threads by his jaw completely undone. He had a little ink dripping from the right side of his face but not enough to cover his eye like he would in Ragdoll form. However his stomach looked exactly like Ragdoll's and the toon writhed around on the bed in agony in his sleep.

Ignoring the strange state of the demondoll Tom hastily went up to Benny and rested a hand on his shoulder and started to nudge him trying to wake him.

"Benny? Benny? Ben get up." The man nudged the demon slowly stirring him as a pie cut eye opened looking up at him. Tom was surprised to see that Benny's normally solid black pie cut eyes had a yellow iris just like his Ragdoll form. The devil groaned with a prominent frown on his face as his eye looked up at Tom sleepily. "Hey little guy, feeling ok?" Tom's worried eyes looking at his distressed toon.

Benny shook his head no and softly spoke from both mouths " My StOmAcH hUrTs."

Tom looked at the devildoll worried, he didn't know if toons can actually get sick since they are living ink and in Benny's case ink and fabric. He built the machine that made the toons, but even he had no clue about their anatomy. They did all the things a normal living creature did except basic bodily functions, their bodies just seemed to turn everything consumed into energy.

Benny's groans taking Tom out of his thoughts he looked back down and gently ran a hand between the devils horns. "Hey lets go to the kitchen. Ok?"

Tom's answer was a small nod and he gently wrapped a sheet around Benny and lifted him out of his bed cradling him. The toon offered no resistance and Tom was thankful that the stitching that made up the toons body seemed to be holding together. While traversing to the kitchen Tom could feel the toon twitch every now and then and the worst area was his stomach. The area since it was in the mouth form seemed to be constantly twitching and he could hear groans escaping the second mouth while his normal was silent. He didn't know what was wrong with the toon, but hoped to figure it out quickly. The man pulled out a chair and gently sat Benny down leaning him against the counter to help support him. Tom knelt down to further examine Benny's stomach since he said it was the source of his problem and gently unraveled the sheet to reveal his chest and stomach.

Benny's stomach looked just like his Ragdoll form, but on a much smaller scale. The jagged edges were twitching slightly and seemed to be the source of most of the groans and occasional gurgles. There was a small liquid oozing on the edges of the mouth between the small teeth that caught Tom's attention. He leaned down and realized that Benny was essentially drooling ink which was far from normal for the toon. He only expels excess ink from his stomach to revert back to his normal size, not to excrete the fluid at his normal size let alone to release the fluid at more then just a constant drip.

Tom stood back up and rested a hand on Benny's cheek causing the toon to open an eye looking up at him. "I'm gonna make some soup and hopefully that will help. Ok?" Benny nodded resting against the counter while Tom turned to try and make some soup.

Tom hastily paced about the kitchen to fix up a quick soup and was more then thankful Allison bought cans of ready made soup that could just be heated. He fetched a can of tomato soup figuring it was only liquid on the off chance the toon didn't want solids and poured its contents into the pot and placed it on the stove. Just when Toms hand rest on the knob to light the stove to warm up the soup he heard a small hiccups followed by the sound of a lot of liquid splashing against the ground.

He turned around to see Benny desperately trying to contain the fluids in his mouth and was using his hands to try and keep his stomach closed, but was clearly struggling to do so. His stomach spasmed violently causing him to loose grip on his stomach as another wave of the ebony liquid escaped in copious amounts coating the floor. The toon looked at Tom completely upset and in distress at the mess he accidentally made and was continuing to make. He started to cry while trying to keep from expelling more ink but was failing to do so. Tom realized the little toon is indeed horribly ill and is trying to keep from making a mess.

"Hey it's ok." Tom bent down to attend to the sick demon. "It can easily be cleaned up, no worries." putting on a smile for the devildoll while gently petting his head.

Benny looked at him with worry and tried to speak, but instead expelled a good quantity of ink completely rendering him immobile until his body was done retching the fluid. He hated that he was having such difficulty doing the most basic of things without making a mess. Each time he expelled ink, his body was racked with pain and exhaustion as the fluid was being forcibly purged from his body. He didn't know what was wrong with him and that growing frustration only added on to his level of stress making him cry even harder. The only comfort he had was the gently coaxing massages or pats Tom was giving to his back to try and comfort him and one the toon was done vomiting he mumbled a small 'sorry'.

"It's ok." Tom rubbed his back a little more before getting a mop to soak up all the ink that had accumulated on the floor. Tom was used to the ink simply disappearing when he dumps the excess he accumulates, but this time round it lingered which was very unusual. Did cartoon logic not work when the cartoon character in question was feeling ill?

The mop made quick work of the spilled ink while Benny quietly cried sitting beside the counter. He wished for whatever was making him feel so bad to stop and for his pain to subside. Each time he lost more ink his pain and exhaustion only intensified and it very much reminded him of his birth when he had so little ink and had sustained so many injuries with no way to numb the pain. The mere reminder further fueling the growing frustrations within the toon while Tom looked at the little demon with pity and concern. He had never seen the toons get sick before and for him to expel such large quantities of ink can't be healthy for him, but it was also 2:30 in the morning and he couldn't call Henry for advice. The old animator was the only other person with a toon in their care and as one whom used to create cartoons he would have more insight as to what to do.

Just as Tom set the mop to the side of the stove and was working on getting himself a cup of coffee since it was gonna be a long morning, the sounds of more liquid hitting the floor made the man slightly cringe. He turned to see Benny once again trying to keep from vomiting, but his stomach betrayed his mouth and a small waterfall of the ebony fluid poured out of him along with a banjo that clattered against the floor. Tom stood flabbergasted at the sudden introduction of the banjo. He knew Benny always carried the banjo in his hammerspace, but why would he suddenly reject it? Was it because his stomach was so upset it was disturbing his hammerspace causing the two to temporarily mix? The man toyed with the idea of calling Henry even more so, and hearing the clattering of a few more objects being purged along with a considerable amount of ink spurred him to pick up the phone.

 

\----------Henry's House----------

 

Henry was sound asleep when the ringing of the phone caused him to stir. Who could be calling at this hour? The man carefully reached over as to not disturb the sleeping demon against his side and picked up the phone. "Hello?" he tiredly groaned into the phone.

"I'm sorry for calling so early in the morning. It's Thomas." the mechanic on the other end sounding exhausted and worried.

Henry lifted a brow and turned over to look at his clock squinting at the numbers before picking up his reading glasses to better view the numbers and mentally cursed the hour. "This must be good for you to be calling me at this hour of the morning."

"I'm really sorry, but it's Benny. The little one is sick." Tom sighed on the line. "I don't know what to do."

This got Henry's attention and the man sat up accidentally jostling Bendy whom mumbled in protest grasping onto the blanket pulling it back over himself. "Sick how? What's wrong with him?"

A long sigh was heard on the line from the clearly tired mechanic "Well he's vomiting a lot and I mean a lot of ink. I know the toons convert the food consumed into ink to sustain themselves and with Benny's appetite he, in theory has a lot of ink, but this is crazy. I've resorted to using water basins to collect the ink and have made many trips to the restroom to pour it down the toilet. What makes it worse is not only is he tossing up the ink, but he is dumping his guts literally and figuratively. His stomach mouth is also upchucking ink, and I'm guessing his stomach is so upset that his hammerspace is getting thrown in the mix and he's upchucking stuff from it as well. I'm at my wits end, I don't know what to do other then clean up after him."

"Hmmm...well did he say anything or act strangely prior to feeling ill?" Henry scratched the back of his head as he pondered the information. It sounds like when any normal human gets a stomach bug and empties their guts having little choice but to let the illness run it's course. Though what about the toons? They aren't human and lack normal bodily function, so would they suffer from food borne problems?

"He briefly complained if his stomach bothering him after we got home from an outing earlier, but that was it." There was a big of a pause on the line before Henry heard the man tiredly groan. "And he just up chucked a violin, a sewing kit and some toys from his stomach."

"Well let me let you go to clean that up, but from what I'm hearing it sounds like he ate something that is making him sick. Perhaps you gave him something he isn't used to or maybe something was off, but either way he probably got a hold of some food that wasn't right. Though at the end of the day it has to run it's course and he will eventually stop on his own, but make sure you have ink at the end of it all on the off chance he runs himself too low. I'll swing by before work in the morning to drop off ink if you need some." Henry sat up and felt small nudging on his side to see a pair of sleepy pie cut eyes looking up at him. He petted Bendy and was silently urging him to lay back down.

"Well thanks. I'll take some if you got some to spare. I don't know how much more he is gonna lose and I have a feeling I'm gonna be in for a long day." Tom sighed and a small chuckle was heard on the line "Thanks Henry and sorry for waking you."

"It's ok, just focus in Benny, he needs you and I'll see you in the morning" With that Henry heard the line cut meaning Tom hung up and the nudging on his side persisted even more so. He looked down to see Bendy was more awake and was now looking at him worriedly.

"Was that Allison?" The toon inquired.

"That was Tom" Henry scratched the space between Bendy's horns getting a hum. "Benny is really sick right now and Tom is taking care of him."

Bendy tilted his head slightly "What's wrong with him? Where's Allison? Doesn't she usually take care of Benny?"

"Tom said he is vomiting a lot. The little guy probably ate something that upset his stomach, but the problem is since he has an internal hammerspace alongside his stomach he is also tossing up literal objects alongside the ink. I'm guessing Allison isn't home which is why he called for advice and I wish him luck. I'll pop by in the morning to drop off some excess ink just in case and to check up on Benny." Henry laid back down allowing Bendy to curl up against his side once more.  
"Can I come too?" Bendy leaned into the man's side.

"Yeah sure pal, but be on your best behavior. Benny wouldn't be up for playing right now." The man covered the both of them back up.

Bendy laid his head into Henry's side and whispered. “I'll be good. I'll wait till he's feeling better and make up for it.”

Henry chuckled and made sure the toon was properly tucked in before making himself comfortable and allowed sleep's sweet embrace to take him once more.

 

\----------Back at the Connor's----------

 

Tom continuously paced back and forth as Benny continued to purge ink in massive quantities alongside the last few objects contained within his hammerspace. The toon long since stopped crying and had grown more frustrated with his bodies inability to cooperate and the constant convulsions, his growing anger made his ink boil and his body contorted to his Ragdoll form. Tom initially kept his distance at seeing Ragdoll sitting in the kitchen growling in anger digging his claws into the kitchen tile in frustration, but when his body was racked with a series of spasms and he upchucked ink, his threatening manner melted to one of exhaustion. The man looked at Ragdoll with pity and a slight twinge of annoyance since now he was twice as large as his normal form which meant twice the amount of ink decorating the floor. Tom inwardly groaned and grabbed his mop cleaning around the water basin which he was thankful caught most of the ink that had been expelled. Ragdoll looked at the man with sorrow and exhaustion in his eye making a small squeaky toy whine. Tom sighed and gently rested his hand on Ragdoll's head to comfort the demon, but retracted when the demon's body violently convulsed and started dry heaving. The urges and heaves continued on for several minutes and each time the demon looked more and more exhausted and Tom realized he was completely cleaned out of any and all excess ink he accumulated along with his items in his hammerspace. The dry heaving had taken it's toll and made Ragdoll start crying again since the heaving was more painful and exhausting then when he had something to reject.

"Hey it's ok." Tom laid his hand on the side of Ragdoll's cheek looking at the demon strait in the eye. "I've been this sick before and believe me it's no fun, but it looks like whatever was in you is gone and with any luck the urges will die down." the demon nodded sleepily and leaned into the man's hand. Tom looked at the sleepy demon and smiled tiredly. Benny seemed to be finally done with the worst part of being sick and now all he needs is rest. “Wanna lay down on the couch?” Ragdoll shook his head 'no', but was leaning more and more and almost slid off the chair.

“C'mon.” Tom grabbed Benny by his right arm above the elbow since it was connected to his shoulder directly and urged the demon to stand up. Ragdoll's legs horribly wobbled beneath him as sleep was rapidly catching up to him and Tom resorted to pulling the demon forward and piggy backed the oversized devildoll on his back. The man groaned and grunted from the additional weight since Benny was heavier then he looked in Ragdoll form and he slowly edged towards the living room to the couch.

He laid the demon down and soon found he couldn't move away from him. Ragdoll's threads had completely wrapped around him during the move from the kitchen to the living room and now was slowly curling up around him. The grim fact hit Tom; at night Benny curls up with his plush toys and now that he is in Ragdoll from Tom is the toy. The man wiggled and tried to free himself of Ragdoll's threads, but the more he resisted the more the threads coiled around him and pulled him into a tighter and tighter embrace. Soft snores drifted from the deviltoon telling Tom that Ragdoll had finally fallen asleep and that he wasn't going anyhere. The man chuckled realizing his situation and opted to simply get comfortable until Ragdoll woke up.

 

\----------Several Hours Later----------

 

Henry and Bendy stood outside the Connor residence ringing the bell several times with Henry occasionally calling out for Thomas to answer the door. The man and toon stood in the doorway confused as to why the house was so still.

"Huh that's strange." Henry turned look behind him seeing that Tom's truck was still in the driveway. "His truck is here so he should be home."

"Well Benny is still home, I can sense his ink." Bendy set his bag down and hopped up on the windowsill to try and look into the home.

Henry scratched his head while looking back at the door. "Hey bud?" Causing Bendy to look over at the animator. "Wanna let ourselves in?" The man gesturing to the door.

Bendy looked at him in confusion till a little light bulb lit above his head in realization. He hopped off the windowsill and joined Henry at the door. He lifted his left hand that dripped profusely with ink as his body stretched and grew taking on his Ink Demon form. The now towering demon grinned as an inky portal opened up on the door and a wall within leaked ink connecting the two. Bendy held out his hand to Henry in invitation and the man grabbed hold after grabbing Bendy's bag and the two stepped through the portal entering the home. Henry shrugged off the excess ink from the portal while Bendy went back to his normal toon form looking around after retrieving his bag from Henry. The house was oddly quiet except for the ink splatters that looked like searchers had been slaughtered by the dozens all over the floor and buckets and catch basins littered the floor. Bendy lifted his hand the ink pulled itself off the floors and floated around and into the buckets and basins leaving the floors spotless. His reward was a pat and scratch between his horns extracting a small whistle like hum from him in gratitude.

Henry looked back up looking down the quiet halls of the home. "Now lets see where Thomas is."

Henry let Bendy lead since the toon always seemed to know where Benny was, and the little ink demon wandered towards the living room. Bendy poked his head around the corner and waved for Henry to come not wanting to shout. The man carefully crept down the hall and looked around the corner and the sight before him immediately made him seek out the family's camera.

Tom was laying on the couch asleep with Benny in Ragdoll form curled around the man like he was a toy, large inky threads kept the man from escaping Ragdoll's clutches. At least Tom was in a comfortable position laying on his back with Ragdoll's large head resting on his chest and the toon's body wrapped around him like a black blanket. Benny had a fondness for sleeping on people's chest or lap and it seemed that even in Ragdoll form he still had that habit.

Bendy stood quietly snickering while Henry returned with the camera and he quietly paced back and forth around the couch taking photos while trying to hide his own snickering. Bendy pulled out a few pieces of paper and used his ink to draw the scene before him on the off chance they wouldn't be able to get copies of the Kodak moment before them. When Henry finally finished up he motioned to Bendy to set the ink wells down while he returned the camera back to it's original location and making a mental note to call Allison for the photo's later with the hopes that Tom wouldn't find out. He returned to the living room with Bendy waiting for him and he quietly requested a sheet of paper to leave a note before they had to go.

 

_Hey punk,_

_Bendy and I popped by to drop off the ink wells for you and you were sleeping like a baby. Benny looked like he was doing better all curled up on you making a perfect little picture. Anyways I'll call later to check up on the little one._  
_See you soon,_

_Henry_  
_P.S Get well soon!: Bendy_

 

\----------An Hour Later----------

 

Tom finally stirred, but still found himself trapped beneath the Ragdoll demon. A chuckle escaping the man as he looked at the demons sleeping face. It was always so strange seeing Benny's Ragdoll form and realizing that under his warped and ruined face was still the little toy demon. He gently ran his hand on the left side of the toons face that was warped and the stitching pulled open. His skin despite his menacing appearance still felt like soft fleece fabric and small amounts of ink dripped on his right side. He was surprised that despite the severe ink loss Benny's right eye was still obstructed from the ink that always dripped down. Deciding not to dwell on the matter he needed Benny up and off him.

"Benny, Benny, C'mon get up." The man gently patting the side of Ragdoll's face getting a small growl in annoyance. "C'mon" Tom moved his had to scratch at the base of his horns getting a low purring sound. Tom continuously scratched and nudged the sleeping demon getting either small purrs or growls depending on his action.

Benny curled around Tom tighter getting annoyed at the constant prodding, not realizing that he was in his Ragdoll form and that his 'stuffed toy' was his dad. After awhile his purring turned to groans as he was slowly stirring and easing up his grip on Tom. The man in question silently thanking the heavens he was allowed to breathe a bit better since Ragdoll was squeezing him a bit too hard when he was annoyed with the disturbances to his sleep. Ragdoll lifted his head and slowly opened his eye finding that not only what his right eye obstructed, but the room seemed oddly smaller.

"How are you feeling?" A gruff tired voice sounded beneath him causing the devildoll to look down and realize he was in his Ragdoll form and was curled up on top of Tom.

Ragdoll squeaked in shock, which to Tom sounded hilarious given Ragdoll's normally garbled tones. The toon in question practically jumped off the couch trying to unravel himself, but only succeeded in tying himself up further with Tom unfortunately still in the middle being dragged along for the ride. Ragdoll staggered on his feet and bumped into the coffee table knocking Henry's note onto the floor under the couch while the ink wells threatened to fall over, but didn't. The demon shook his head whining trying to better wake up, but he was still feeling weak and was struggling to unwind himself around his dad.

Tom noticed Benny's struggles with his body and calmly placed a hand on top the panicking demons head to comfort him. "Hey it's ok. Take it one step at a time, you're still feeling under the weather."

Ragdoll nodded and focused on trying to retract his threads while Tom helped keep them from getting tangled. After a few pulls and unraveling Tom was freed of Ragdoll's coil-like arms and the toon was slowly pulling himself back together. Tom watched as for once Ragdoll didn't expel a good quantity of ink to revert back and simply shrunk in size back to his normal plushtoon state. Benny's legs wobbled and he swayed on his feet and was caught by Tom before he fell over. His reverting back to normal taking more energy out of him and he gave Tom a small shaky smile while looking at him with half lidded eyes.

"Let get you a little soup." The man pulled Benny into a warm hug cradling him, and stopped briefly when the 4 inkwells on the coffee table caught his attention. 'Huh. Henry must have popped by, but he didn't leave a note. I guess I'll thank him later' Tom thought to himself while he gathered up the inkwells and retreated to the kitchen. He was thankful that he was no longer feeling any spasms unlike several hours ago when Benny's body twitched uncontrollably with the urges to vomit. With any luck the worst had passed and he can now try and get something in him to make him feel better.

Tom cradled the toon and set the inkwells on the table before retreating to the stove warming up the soup to a medium temperature where it wasn't too hot and wasn't too cold. He fetched a mug from the cupboard and scooped a small amount of the soup into the mug and set it on the table after turning off the stove. Tom pulled out a chair and he slowly sat down with Benny still in his arms and uncorked an inkwell trying to hand it to the tired toon.

Benny was hesitant for fear of expelling the ink again, but he was so worn out and exhausted he knew he needed the ink to hasten his recovery. He tried to lift his hands to grab a hold of the bottle, but found it difficult to do so. His body was just too tired from reverting back to normal. Tom smiled warmly and lifted the bottle to the toons mouth and Benny slowly started drink the liquid. Tom was patient while he had Benny drink the ink wells slowly, the toon not even arguing with the man when he kept introducing more and more ink to him. Once the ink was all gone Tom set the last bottle down and followed up with the mug of soup. It had gone cold by the time they finally got to it, but Benny didn't care, unlike Bendy, Benny didn't care too much for the taste of ink. He didn't hate the taste, but wasn't fond of it either and would have preferred actual food over the art supply.

Benny slowly reached for the mug helping Tom bring it to his mouth and carefully drank the liquid, it was just simple tomato soup. He took his time drinking the fluid all the while Tom patiently watched and waited. Once Benny finished the mug letting go, tom refilled it and held it up to him again. He shook his head 'no' and the man simply set the cup down and looked at the toon whom was starting to nod off again.

A glance up at the clock told Tom that it had been a long day. He spent hours cleaning and watching Benny wishing that his vomiting sessions would subside swiftly and that he would recover. The little toon nodding off in his arm was a gentle reminder to his own levels of exhaustion. Tom set Benny gently down on the chair and cleaned up the kitchen while the toon tried to stay awake but small Z's kept persistently popping up over his head and bursting every time he shook himself awake. Tom occasionally glanced over his shoulder noting the toon refusal to sleep and set to finish cleaning the kitchen as quickly as he could. A small chuckle escaping him at Benny's stubbornness.

The kitchen was laid to rest and Tom felt he should do the same. He turned to look at Benny who finally lost the battle with the floating Z's and was completely out like a light and thankfully looked more relaxed then his fitful night and morning. Tom gently lifted Benny up as to not disturb him too much and cradled the plushtoon as he headed for his own bedroom. Feeling that whatever was bothering Benny has long since passed and Benny would be fine in his own bedroom he preferred to keep the toon in his room with him so he could better watch over him. Better safe then sorry. The man strode down the hall quietly and reached his room opening the door with care and slipped inside.

Tom pulled down the blanket of his bed and carefully laid Benny on Allison's side of the bed before crawling in himself. Once he was on the bed one hand gently pulled Benny closer to himself while the other pulled the blankets over them.

Tom looked at Benny's sleeping face and ran his hand gently on his cheek getting a small smile from him. He didn't know what it really means to be a parent, but he felt like he learned a little more of it's meaning today. Watching Benny get ill and doing anything and everything in his power to help the little toon is what a parent does for their child. A parent is someone whom cares for the child with all their being even if they are or aren't related. Even though Benny was made with a little of his blood, at the end of the day Benny made him feel he could devote his all to the little plushdevil and that's what makes him his parent. He now had a better understanding as to why his own father had so many Grey hairs on his head dealing with him growing up. Children are the most stressful, joyful things in life and they make it well worth the ride.

**Author's Note:**

> Poor Tom dealing with a sick little one, but hey he learned that being a parent means to be there for your respective child.


End file.
